


Homestuck Carol

by godlessAdversary



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Christmas, F/F, F/M, Inspired by A Christmas Carol, Karkat is Scrooge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-09
Updated: 2015-12-23
Packaged: 2018-05-05 19:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5387681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/godlessAdversary/pseuds/godlessAdversary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat is visited by three spirits that will teach him the importance of Christmas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Karkat is Scrooge

It was the day of Christmas Eve, and through all London the celebrations were filling the houses and streets with joy. The Crocker bakery was at full capacity with all the requests for the parties that were starting in the richest parts of the city; the Maryam’s tailoring shop was decorated with the finest fabrics for the season; the Strider brothers were busy with their musical group in the middle of the plaza of Sburbia; and Feferi Peixes was giving food to homeless people. Everyone was happy about Christmas… except for…

“EGBERT!” shouted an angry red haired man. “WHERE THE FUCK IS MY COFFEE?! I ORDERED YOU TO SERVE ME MY GODDAMN COFFEE TEN MINUTES AGO.”

“Sorry, Mr. Vantas.” The blue eyed young man entered his boss’s office and served the hot beverage.

“NOW HURRY UP AND FINISH WITH THE NUMBERS FOR THE CAPTOR MACHINE.”

Karkat Vantas became a successful businessman, and was one of the first ones to enter the business of the Captor Machines, steam powered analytic machines used for accounting. Obviously, Mr. Vantas wasn’t a man of science, and he was busy with keeping his fortune, so all the hard work went to his poor employee, John Egbert. The payment for all that work was just a few pennies and a lot of shouting from Karkat.

“Mr. Vantas…”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT? I TOLD YOU TO DO YOUR WORK.”

“Well, tomorrow is Christmas…”

“YES, CHRISTMAS. THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE OF CELEBRATION MADE BY CHRISTIANITY TO TAKE AWAY TIME FOR BEING PRODUCTIVE.”

“… I was wondering if I could go home early to celebrate with my family? Just for Christmas, sir.”

Karkat didn’t like the idea of wasting precious time for a day.

“Tomorrow nobody is going to work, so nobody is going to visit the business anyway.”

Karkat was debating between how to get a new employee or if beating the shit out of John would be worth it. Anyway, the blue eyed man was making a point he couldn’t dismiss, and maybe some resting could be good after weeks of not sleeping.

“YOU CAN GO HOME AT 6PM, BUT I EXPECT YOU TO FINISH ALL THE WORK I ORDERED.”

“Thank you sir!”

“ALSO, YOU WILL HAVE HALF THE PAYMENT. NOW GET OUT OF MY OFFICE AND WORK, YOU LAZY ASS!”

Soon, someone knocked on the door. John opened it and greeted two girls with colorful costumes.

“Greetings, Ms. Peixes and Ms. Leijon!”

“Hi, John! We finished serving some bread downtown, and now we are asking for donations for…”

“WE DON’T GIVE DONATIONS!” Karkat pushed John to the side and glared at the two girls. Feferi and Nepeta were paralyzed because of the fear that Karkat induced on them.

“Mr. Vantas… the winter has been cruel to the poorest parts of London.

“And some of our friends live in those places, Karkitty…” Nepeta added.

“THAT IS CALLED NATURAL SELECTION, YOU IGNORAMOUS! I WAS AT THE BOTTOM TOO, BUT I STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE. TRY THAT THE NEXT TIME YOU THINK LIFE IS HARSH. WE NEED TO DIMINISH THE OVERPOPULATION ANYWAY.”

Karkat slammed the door and returned to his usual habit of counting coins, even if he has done that many times. His peace didn’t last once someone else entered the door.

“Merry Christmas, John!” said a woman in a fancy black coat.

“Merry Christmas, Kanaya!”

Kanaya entered Karkat’s office in a casual manner, but without disturbing the grumpy man.

“Merry Christmas, Karkat.”

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

Karkat was busy reading some documents, and at the same time trying to ignore his cheerful sister.

“I am going to make a party at my house tonight, and I wondered if you could come.”

“I AM BUSY.”

“You always say that.”

“I AM ALWAYS BUSY.”

Kanaya looked at her brother with a sad face.

“Mom liked when you visited us for Christmas.”

“LEAVE!”

She did as he said.

“I AM SORRY.” Karkat whispered.

He continued with his angst until the end of the working time.


	2. A ghostly visitor.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat receives an unexpected visit.

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Vantas!” John said to his boss.

“Whatever, I am out of here.”

Karkat walked to his house which is a dark building a few blocks from his office. It used to be a shared household, but Karkat shouted to his last roommate so much that now he is alone. He doesn’t want to remember that. Right now he only wants to rest in his bed and take a good nap.

“We wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas…”

Karkat hated to hear the locals sing in the streets. He thought singing without any payment was waste of time, and a big distraction to the hardworking citizens of London.

“SHUT UP, YOU LAZY ASSES! NOT EVERYONE LIKES CHRISTMAS!”

Everyone in the crowd watched with awkwardness how Karkat walked towards his house with an aura of dread. They didn’t disliked him, they just thought he was miserable. After a long walk, Karkat started searching for his key to open the door to his house, but to his surprise there was a strange face in the door. It was a face with broken teeth and an eyepatch. Karkat touched the face to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

“Aaaahhhhh!!!!”

Karkat covered his ears and closed his eyes. After the scream disappeared, he opened his eyes and the face wasn’t there anymore.

“This lack of sleep is making me see things.”

 

Middle of the night

Karkat prepared to go to bed after a few hours of counting all romance novels to check that no one had stolen them. He sometimes indulged in the works of Jane Austen, and there were times when he felt nostalgic and read the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

“Damn you, Terezi.”

Also, he kept money hidden inside the books. He has to always keep a small fortune hidden in case that something happens to the bank of London. Now it is time to stop worrying about money and get some sleep… unless something happens in the next few minutes. That something is the sound of chains.

“Who is there?!”

The sound gets louder, and it is making Karkat freak out. He always has a sickle below his bed in case of robbery, even if he is a pacifist.

“I am warning you that if you don’t get out of my house I will cut you to pieces!”

“You will do no shit, you blabbering pansy!”

Karkat knows that voice.

“Jack…”

An ethereal figure appears in front of Karkat, and then screams to the frightened red haired man like a banshee. Karkat always felt a admiration towards Jack Noir, but the one eyed man was a cruel being that did horrible things to get money. Also, he once stabbed Karkat as part of a scam, and later paid the hospital bill and gave Karkat part of the money gained.

“Do you know why I am here, little scoundrel!”

“No?”

Karkat didn’t knew if he was going to cry and/or pee at any moment. Jack’s previous scream made him lose his sleep.

“I am here to warn you of what will happen if you keep being an asshole to everyone around you!”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU ARE A BIGGER ASSHOLE THAN ME!”

Jack tried to stab Karkat, but he was detained by the ghostly chains in his arms, and the lack of a knife or any pointy object.

“You are lucky that I am a ghost doomed to be punished for all eternity. I did horrible things in my life Karkat. I stabbed my way into the top of the industry, I scammed old ladies, stole money from the poor, and I once stole the butterscotch pie a gentle woman made for a party.”

“She actually made many pies, so it wasn’t so much a crime.”

“Don’t interrupt! What I am trying to say is that if you continue doing what you do you will have more chains than me!”

Karkat was now worried. He really did some wrongful deeds this year, including the time he stole more butterscotch pies from the same gentle woman.

“It… it was just business, Jack.”

“Try to keep saying that to yourself every night you want sleep. You will be doomed if you don’t change!”

“Ok, I don’t wanna have troubles with God. I will do whatever it is needed to save my soul”

“Good, because today you are going to be visited by three spirits.”

“On second thoughts, Christianity can’t be the only religion.”

“This isn’t about religion, this is about being a good person, you pathetic ball of red hair! Three spirits will come tonight and make you learn a valuable lesson.”

Jack disappears with a fiery explosion, leaving you to contemplate the ticking clock.

“I remember that clock to be brown, not green.”


	3. Remem8er

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first of the three spirits appears.

“It’s ok, it was just a ghost.” Karkat said while pacing around. “THE GHOST OF MY EX BUSINESS PARTNER WHO SAID I AM DOOMED… unless I listen to what these asshole spirits have to say.”

The clock started slowing down until it made a loud noise that scared all of Karkat’s remaining sleep away. Suddenly, a blue ethereal figure walked towards him, and it acquired a more recognizable shape: It was a girl. She was small, with long black hair, blue lipstick, a white dress that was torn, and she had these strange blue butterfly wings that gave her an aura of divinity, but at the same time sadness. Also, she has white eyes that lack life.

“Hi.” She said with a sorrowful voice.

“Hi… you look like someone I remember, but I am not sure who.”

“I am the Ghost of Past Christmas. I am just a memory of the past, something that was and can no longer be. Karkat Vantas, this night I will show you what happened in your past.”

The young girl stretched her ghostly hand to Karkat, and he doubted for second if it would be wise to trust someone so scary. Then, he accepted once she gave him a warm smile.

“Let’s go.”

The ghost took Karkat through a window, even if Karkat was shouting at full volume in an attempt to save his life. It tuns out his shouting can’t defeat Christmas.

“ARE WE FUCKING FLYING! OH MY GOD! WE ARE OVER THE CONSTRUCTION SITE OF THAT BIG ASS BRIDGE!”

“Can you be silent for a minute? Traveling to the past is hard, and more because I never specialized in time travel like the other ghosts. Luckily, your memories aren’t something hard to study.”

“WAIT, ARE YOU MESSING WITH MY MIND?! THAT IS MY PERSONAL SPACE, YOU BITCH!”

“Relax, your mind isn’t so full of dirt… I better keep those memories as a souvenir if God could let me.”

Past Xmas flies faster than before, and now the space around is covered in light. Karkat just screamed for like 5 minutes until a white light covered all.

“We are already here. You can stop pressing your hands against my boobs, you coward.”

Karkat was clinging to Past Xmas like child, and then he fell to the floor with a loud noise. He looked around an recognized the place. He remembered the snowy hills, the building in front of him, and the smell of the air. It was the orphanage of Alternia. For many years Karkat lived there and spent each Christmas in solitude. Many kids were adopted, and the ones that were the meanest bullied the poor kid.

“WHY ARE WE HERE IN THIS GODAMN PLACE!”

“You need to find yourself to understand.”

“I know where I am, and I don’t want to remember.”

“You have to remember. Everyone has to remember.”

Karkat was guided by Past Xmas and walked inside the building. In the main hall there was a small red haired kid with a black eye from a previous fight.

“It was a mean kid. Many here want to don’t feel weak, so they punch the ones that they consider to be weaker. For me it was a like training for the world outside of these place.”

“Did it made you stronger?”

“No, it just hurt.”

The younger Karkat was crying, and the older Karkat wanted to cry too. Then, someone entered the hall. It was a black haired woman with a long green coat. Karkat will always remember those Jade colored eyes. That woman hugged the younger Karkat and kissed his forehead.

“Don’t cry my child, we are going home.”

“Her name was Dolorosa. She originally adopted my brother Kankri, and she promised him to search for me. It took years, but she finally found me and saved me.”

Karkat was crying in front of this memorable scene that is permanently imprinted in his mind.

“Let’s go, we still have more memories to attend.” Past Xmas said, and she took Karkat by the arm.

Karkat turned around one last time to see Dolorosa taking Karkat away from that godforsaken orphanage. Also, he saw a small black haired girl walking past.

‘That girl looks familiar’ Karkat thought.

 Past Xmas carried the angry man through the sky, and then there was another time travel thingy.

“CAN YOU STOP DOING THAT DIVINE FLASH?! I SWEAR THAT IF I GET BLIND I WILL ACCUSE YOU WITH GOD!”

“I want to see you try talking with the boss.”

The next memory is about the Christmas party at Jack’s club. That night he invited everyone in the community in part as a gesture of kindess, and in part as getting some favors.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, in a few minutes we will start the traditional Christmas dance.” Jack said from the center from the room. “I hope to see many happy couples dancing tonight.”

Karkat saw a past version of himself sitting in a table with Kanaya and Sollux.

“C’mon, Karkat, we can still dance.”

“Kanaya, I wouldn’t feel comfortable dancing with my own sister… or anyone.”

“KK is just sad because he has to spend the night with us instead of finishing his work. I don’t blame him, I have better things to do.”

“SHUT UP, CAPTOR! YOU COULD TAKE FEFERI TO A DANCE, BUT YOU ARE JUST A JERK!”

“She is already dancing with Ampora just because she feels pity for his sorry ass. He deserves it more than I.”

Past! Karkat was already angry, so he wouldn’t have another argument with Sollux. He then noticed something at the other side of the room. There was a beautiful girl with a hair as red as his. He walked towards her with nervousness.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“You call that flirting?!” Past Xmas was grinning so wide that Present! Karkat was scared worse than with Jack’s screams.

“IT IS HARD TO FLIRT WITH A GIRL!”

“Uhhh… do you want to dance?”

“Sure.” Answered the girl to Past! Karkat.

“OH MY GOD! I WAS WORSE THAN TAVROS NITRAM! I HATE PAST ME!”

“It is kinda cute how past you blushes.”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP, PAST CHRISTMAS!”

Past! Karkat and the girl went to the dance floor and danced a cheerful tune being played by the Midnight Crew’s band. Many people were being happy dancing: Sollux and Feferi, after he manned up to ask her out, Kanaya and a blonde haired girl, Jack and chubby small woman, ad John and a girl with long black hair. Present! Karkat was now trying to remember who the black haired girl was. He hasn’t heard about her since that year.

“My name is Karkat.”

“I am Terezi.”

“Do you want to go outside? The snowing looks good.”

“I am blind.”

“Well, we can still have a nice talk.”

“WHY PAST ME WAS SUCH A CLICHÉ! IS SHOULD HAVE READ MORE ECONOMICS INSTEAD OF LORD BYRON’S BOOKS!”

“Let me change the page of this history book.”

Past Xmas took Karkat by the arm again, and with a quick walk both crossed a time thingy again that lasted just a few seconds. Now the two were looking at past! Karkat and Terezi smooching with the moon illuminating them. Karkat was happy to see again Terezi, but he knew what would happen next.

“OH NO! I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SHOW ME NOW! PLEASE DON’T DO IT.”

“You have to remember.”

“I DON’T WANT TO REMEMBER!”

Past Xmas grabbed him again and did another run through time with a struggling Karkat.

“GO AHEAD AN LEAVE!” an angry voice echoed through time.

“I don’t want to!”

“THEN WHY ARE YOU LEAVING!”

“Because you are no longer the man that I loved!”

Terezi walks out of Past! Karkat’s office, and crying. Karkat wants to grab her, but his hand can’t touch hers.

“This is a memory. You can’t touch her.”

“WHY DID YOU LET HER LEAVE?!” Karkat tried to punch his past self. “YOU COULD HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH HER, YOU COWARD! WHY DIDN’T YOU APOLOGIZED?!”

“I told you this is a memory! You can’t touch anyone, not even yourself!”

“THEN WHY DO YOU TORTURE ME WITH WHAT I CAN’T CHANGE, YOU GHOSTLY BITCH?! RETURN ME TO MY ROOM AND LEAVE ME ALONE!”  
Karkat jumped towards Past Xmas and punched her. She was crying and smiling in a creepy way.

“You have to remember, because even if it doesn’t matter, you have to for the sake of the present and the future.”

Then, a final flash of light takes Karkat to his room. He is now contemplating the clock with tears flowing through his cheeks. He remembers everything, including.

“Vriska…”

Vriska was Terezi’s sister. Both were orphans like him, and did many things to survive in the streets of London. Vriska was a thief, and could have become a prostitute if not for Terezi’s big sister complex… and John’s help. Now Karkat remembered that John and her where quite close, but after her disappearance he moved on and married Roxy… No… she didn’t disappear… She was stabbed by Jack during one of his drunken walks back to the office.

“I saw him with blood in his hands, and the next morning Terezi told me she was murdered. I DIDN'T TOLD HER! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!”


	4. Made of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat is guided by a spirit with a creepy sense of humor.

“This can’t be happening.” Said Karkat while pacing around his room. “If that was just the first Christmas spirit, then HOW WORSE WOULD THINGS GET WITH THE NEXT TWO SPIRITS?!”

The clock slowed its movement again, and this time something different than before happened. Around the room many clocks of an ethereal matter appeared and surrounded Karkat. All the clocks were ticking with sounds of divine gears that represent the essence of time. Suddenly, a flash of light was summoned once all the clocks stopped.

“Greetings, Karkat Vantas.” Said the mysterious woman with a long red coat and an Advent wreath on her head. “I am the Ghost of Present Christmas, the representation of Christmas every year, and I am so happy to be your guide in this journey of self-discovery.”

The red woman started looking her surroundings and frowned a bit.

“You really need to make this place more cheerful for the season. Let me fix this.”

She snapped her fingers and then all the room was covered with Christmas decorations, a table with a big feast was summoned in the center of the room, and there were musical boxes playing synchronized tune like an orchestra.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DID TO MY ROOM?! THIS IS TOO CHILDISH FOR MY LIKINGS.”

“It seems Past Xmas was right that you have your temper. I thought she was just exaggerating because she is a bitch. Anyway, do you want some turkey.”

The woman took a turkey leg from the feast and gave it a big bite.

“DO YOU THINK I HAVE TIME FOR THIS BULLSHIT?! JUST TAKE ME WHERE I AM SUPOSSED TO BE AND LET’S FINISH WITH THIS CHRISTMAS BUSINESS.”

“That is your problem, Karkat. You associate time with business, and you don’t give yourself the time you need to learn and enjoy.”

“DO YOU THINK I AM MADE OF TIME?”

“No, but I am.” Said her while gesturing at a small red ghost clock.

Present Xmas took Karkat’s hand and the same fly as before happens.

“I HATE FLYING! I HATE FLYING! I HATE FLYING!”

“Look, it is our first destination.” Present Xmas points towards a small house below.

She and Karkat descend and continue the journey on foot.

“Why am I here in this place full of poor people? This place spells misery in every house.”

“You don’t have many friends, right?”

“I don’t need friends. Everyone is selfish and cruel, so there is no time for being friendly.”

“Are you sure about that? Just looks trough this window.”

Present Xmas clears the window in the house in front of them and Karkat approaches to see. Inside the house there is a blonde woman making some preparations for the Christmas Eve celebration, and there are also some kids playing around.

“John, the dinner is almost ready!” shouted the woman while putting the silverware in the table.

“WAIT, I KNOW THAT WOMAN. IS THIS EGBERT’S HOUSE? I THOUGHT HE LIVED IN A MORE DECENT PLACE.”

“What did you expected? You pay him with pennies.”

John Egbert entered the room with a girl over his shoulders. The girl was small, with green eyes and white hair.

“Mom, Dad and I went to help Ms. Peixes in the collect for Christmas.” said the small girl

John’s wife took the girl from his shoulders and hugged her.

“You are such an angel, Callie, do you know that, my precious girl?”

“Cassandra, Nicholas,” John called the other kids. “Help your mother with the plates, she has been working all day for the dinner.”

Karkat was surprised when he saw the dinner of the night. It was a small roasted bird that was possibly a chicken.

“Children, I want to thank this dinner to God, but also to Mr. Vantas.” Said John to his family.

“Johnny, why do you think we should thank that jerk?” asked John’s wife. “He has made you work like a servant for years.”

“Roxy, Karkat gave me this job, and I am grateful that he hired me when we were starving years ago.”

Karkat was a bit proud at John’s words.

“Even if he is cruel and greedy.”

Now Karkat was thinking how to beat John’s ass.

“For Mr. Vantas.” Said Callie with a cheerful voice.

“For Mr. Vantas.” Everyone repeated.

“SPIRIT, CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT TINY GIRL?” asked Karkat to Present Xmas. “SHE SEEMS SICK AND WEAK.”

“There is medicine to cure her, but it’s price is beyond John and Roxy’s payment. If nothing is done soon, Tiny Callie’s chair will be empty next Christmas.”

Karkat didn’t like how that sounded. Even if he tried to pretend that he was mean, he didn’t like to see people suffer. Seeing a family being happy even in one of the poorest sections of the city of London fills someone with DETERMI…

“Let’s go.”

“WHAT?! I THOUGHT THIS WAS MY LESSON. YEAH, I GET IT. MY ACTIONS CAUSE HARM TO OTHERS. THIS IS CALLED REAL LIFE, SO DEAL WITH IT.”

“I think you need to go to our next destination ta make things clear.”

 

In another part of London.

“Two words.”

“Yes?”

“Yes!”

Karkat and Present Xmas arrived at a party with people he knew from his past as Jack’s assistant. In the center of the crowd Rose Lalonde was making an angry expression and raising a fist.

“Karkat Vantas!” answered Feferi.

“You are right, I was impersonating our favorite grumpy businessman.”

“It is a shame that he rejected your invitation, Kanaya.”

“It is his lost. I invited my brother to have a good time with his family, but he refused like always. And you know what? I will continue inviting him because I have nothing to lose.”

“Even if he is a jerk to everyone and has serious psychological problems? Asked Rose.

“Even if he is a jerk and has serious psychological problems, he is my brother and I will invite him because it is the right thing to do.”

Karkat was a jerk to everyone, except Kanaya. Ever since his mother died, Kanaya has been there for him.

“Your sister is a good person.” Said Present Xmas

“Yes, she is. She is like mom, gentle, patient, and humble. I don’t know what do Maryam girls have that makes them such beautiful people.”

“You miss your mom, right?”

“Yes. Is there anything else you want to show me?”

“Just wait a bit.”

The two expectators continue watching the party, and then Sollux Captor leaves his seat.

“Good night, Maryam and co. I have to go work in a project with AA.”

“Didn’t Aradia said that she couldn’t finish her project without the proper components.”

“KK has been a jerk and rejected her proposal. She decided to finish the project herself.”

“Heh.” Karkat laughed. “That machine isn’t going to work. That woman showed me the blue prints years ago, and it is incomplete and lacks of any plan to make a profit from it. Scientists should know that research costs money.”

“Are you sure that you took the right decision?”

“C’mon, what can turn out wrong?”

Suddenly, a blast of light shines from a long distance.

“WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”

“It is my Birthday!”

“WHAT?!”

“Well, it is also the date of my death, but today is the day I became something else.”

“OH MY GOD, ARE YOU ARADIA?!”

She smiles at Kakat with a smile so wide that could scare the bravest person.

“I am Aradia every Christmas. I am born and I die in this day, making every second I have in this world the most valuable.”

Aradia is aging at an incredible speed, and even if it is disturbing, Karkat is watching with horror everthing that is happening. Then, he notices something moving inside of Aradia’s long dress.

“Come out, children.”

From the dress of Aradia came a boy with skeleton make up and a girl with braided hair.

“WHAT ARE THOSE CREATURES?!”

“The boy is Ignorance and the girl is Want. Be careful of the two of them, but be more careful of the boy. You can only satisfy Want for a moment, but she will always want more. Ignorance is the most dangerous because he doesn’t know how to be good.”

The boy and the girl started attacking Karkat while Aradia was laughing and becoming dust. The boy hit Karkat in the back with a club.

“I thought you believed in survival of the strongest.”

Then, the girl kicked Karkat in the head, making him fall to the ground.

“It is just business.”

Aradia laugh became louder and louder, until she was just dust floating around Karkat. At the end of the laugh, Karkat was back at his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aradia was working in a tme travel project like the one of the Time Machine story. This AU takes place in an alternate version of Victorian London, so there are many steampunk elements.


	5. I believe in angels, and they are scary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat has to face the last spirit in order to save himself and even save someone else.

Two Christmas spirits have visited Karkat so far. Now he has to wait for the third one.

“I guess there is no turning back. I have to face this last spirit.”

The clock in your room started ticking faster this time, like if it was indicating that Karkat is running out of time. Also, the room changed its colors to different tones of green. Deep down in his soul, Karkat knew that the last spirit would be the scariest one. A green fire ignited inside the fireplace, and soon many shadows came from the light emanated.

“Are you the spirit?” asked Karkat to the swarm of shadows in the floor.

The shadows made a circle in the floor with their movement, and then got out of the floor and became an ethereal mass of darkness. That mass became a humanoid body with a muscular body that no mortal could achieve. Karkat thought that he was facing the grim reaper once the being in front of him was complete.

“Are you… the Ghost of Future Christmas?”

Future Xmas opened their eyes, revealing spheres that change of light colors at a really fast speed. The ghost summoned a green coat with many light changing squares in the borders.

“Ok, I know I did horrible things, BUT CAN YOU AT LEAST TALK TO ME?!”

The ghost took a deep breath that was like if they were breathing a storm, paused for like 11 seconds…

“Ghost?”

And then made a sound so horrible that could cause the end of the world as it is known.

“HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Karkat covered his ears for most of that sound, but it was so loud that he was close to having a heart attack. Then, the ghost took another deep breath, but this time it was bigger.”

“NO, PLEASE…”

“HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

That vast honk made Karkat’s room shatter like glass, and Karkat fell from the broken floor until he crashed in the snow of a street that was familiar to him.

“I HATE CHRISTMAS GHOSTS! I HATE CHRISTMAS GHOSTS, I HATE CHRISTMAS GH…”

Even if magically he wasn’t harmed by the fall, Karkat didn’t like how it felt to fall. He was on the snowy floor of the street next to the Bank of London.

“Did you hear the news?” said a man that Karkat recognized as Equius Zahhak.

“Of course I heard the news.” Said Eridan Ampora. “That asshole finally kicked the bucket.”

“Would it be polite to attend his funeral?”

“I don’t feel too motivated, and I have too much work to do.”

“I am bussy too, and I agree that it would be a short funeral.”

“Who would even spare their time to visit someone so despicable?”

Karkat was confused of what happened. He always knew that most of the industrialists in London were cruel and greedy, but if the spirit is showing him this scene it must be for a reason. Then, the ghost appeared next to him and put a skeletal yet muscular hand over his shoulder.

“I think I can guess why you brought me here. You are trying to say that if I ever died no one will mourn me like this poor man Ampora and Zahhak were mocking about?”

The ghost was staring at Karkat without saying anything. Then, they lifted an arm and threw a punch towards Karkat’s face. Karkat could feel not only the pain, but also something else flowiung around. It was as if time was moving around and Karkat could do nothing. Then, he felt on a field of grass covered in snow.

“THAT HURT, YOU BRUTE!”

Karkat watched around and noticed the graves.

“WHY AM I IN THE GRAVEYARD?”

Karkat’s sight soon caught something he wouldn’t like to watch. He saw John and his family in front of a grave stone. Roxy was crying so hard, and John was trying to console her.

“She was young and full of life! Why did she had to…”

“Calm down, Roxy. She is now in heaven with the angels. She was so good that I am sure they will let her join them.”

John and his family left the place, and Karkat decided to approach Callie’s grave. In the engraving said “Calliope Egbert, beloved daughter and sister”.

“THIS IS MY FAULT!” Karkat screamed. “THIS IS MY FUCKING FAULT!”

Karkat was crying as badly as when his mom died years ago. He knew if that girl had grown up she could have been a saint. After cleaning his tears, Karkat noticed Future Xmas sitting over a grave.

“FUTURE CHRISTMAS!” Karkat walked towards the spirit. “I KNOW THAT I HAVE DONE WRONG, AND THAT EVERY BAD CHOICE I HAD TAKEN HAS ONLY CAUSED SUFFERING, BUT CAN YOU AT LEAST TELL ME IF CAN CHANGE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE?”

The spirit looked at Karkat curiously, and then pointed towards a figure walking towards them and Karkat. It was Kanaya.

“Kan…”

Kanaya left some flowers in front of the grave.

“I hope you meet mom and that I can be with you two soon.”

Kanaya left without saying anything else, just a tear in her face. Karkat panicked more than before and went to see the name engraved in the gravestone.

“KARKAT VANTAS, BELOVED SON AND BROTHER!” Said the spirit with a scary male voice.

“NO NO NO NO NO NO!”

“YES!”

Future Xmas took Karkat by his shoulders and lifted him. Karkat was already terrified, but not because of the spirit watching him with their scary eyes, but because he knew that he was going to die next Christmas. Unless…

“SPIRIT, PLEASE TELL ME IF THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN, OR IF IT IS WHAT COULD HAPPEN. IF THIS IS WHAT COULD HAPPEN, I AM GOING TO CHANGE. I WANT TO CHANGE! JUST LET ME LIVE SO I CAN CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR, AND EVERY YEAR. I WILL CELEBRATE IT IN MY HEART AND STOP TREATING EVERYONE LIKE GRABAGE. JUST LET ME SAVE CALLIE!”

To Karkat’s surprise, the face of Future Xmas changed to one that was the opposite of scary.

“Merry, Christmas, Mr. Vantas.” Said Callie.

She was wearing a black dress and had angelical wings that gave Karkat that feeling of what is Christmas about. The next thing he knew, Karkat woke up in his bed, and he was filled with DETERMINA…

“IT IS CHRISTMAS TODAY!”

Karkat runned to the window next to his best and opened it.

“HEY, KID!”

“Yo, Karkat.”

“DAVE?! WHATEVER, I NEED YOU TO HELP ME REDEEM MY SOUL.”

“Well, the church will open in a few hours.”

“VERY FUNNY, BUT I REALLY NEED HELP. CAN YOU GO TO BOXCAR’S MEAT SHOP AND BUY THE BIG TURKEY BEHIND THE FRONT WINDOW.”

“Okay, but I will need money. Also, do you sleep with those ugly pants?”

“THEY KEEP ME WARM AT NIGHT, YOU ASSHOLE. NOW TAKE THIS BAG WITH MONEY AND BUY THAT TURKEY!”


	6. Merry Christmas!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat learned learned the meaning of Christmas.

It was the morning of Christmas, and everyone in the Egbert residence was asleep. John and Roxy woke up earlier to do some duties for the celebrations and attend the Christmas church service later that day. To the couple’s surprise, someone was knocking on the door.

“Who would be at this hour of the morning?”

“I will, check?”

John opened the door, and the person outside wasn’t someone he would expect in the entrance of his house during Christmas.

“Good morning, Mr. Vantas.”

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH DOWN, EGBERT.” Karkat forced his entrance into the house. “I HAVE SOME PROBLEMS THAT REQUIRE YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION RIGHT NOW.”

“Sir, it is Christmas…”

“I DON’T CARE. WHAT I HAVE TO TELL YOU CAN’T WAIT.”

Roxy was glaring at Karkat and gestured to John something like ‘what is happening?’, but John could only gesture a response of ‘I don’t know’.

“FOR MANY YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN WORKING FOR ME WITHOUT SHOWING ANY SIGNS OF BEING COMPETITIVE, BUT INSTEAD YOU HAVE BEEN THE OPPOSITE: A GOODY TWO SHOES THAT IS NICE TO EVERYONE EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT YOUR JOB.”

“What are you trying to say about my husband?!”

Roxy was clearly angry at the moment.

“I AM NOT FINISHED YET. YOU HAD SHOWN MERCY TO THOSE THAT ARE BENNEATH YOU, AND THE WORST PART IS THAT YOU HAVE TOLERATED BY WORTHLESS RANTS WITHOUT COMPLAINING!”

At this point in the conversation John was confused. He didn’t knew what Karkat was trying to say.

“AND BECAUSE OF ALL THAT I HAVE DECIDED TO RAISE YOUR PAYMENT.”

“What?”

“WHAT I JUST SAID, AND FROM NOW ON YOU WILL BE NEW BUSINESS PARTNER. I WON’T ACCEPT A NO FOR AN ANSWER.”

Both Roxy and John were speechless, but John reacted first by hugging Karkat.

“Thank you, Mr. Vantas.”

“WHATEVER, NOW GET YOU ARMS AWAY FROM ME. I AM STILL HOLDING A PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE.”

“Hi, Egberts and Vantas.” Said Dave from the entrance. “I got all the stuff you asked me to get here, grumpypants.”

Karkat reacted in the usual way, but he decided to calm down and do what he was here to do. He gave gifts to all of the Egbert kids, and he was even persuaded by John to be at the dinner that night. Also, Mr. Vantas became Callie’s godfather and promised to pay for her treatments.

Later that day, Karkat went to Kanaya’s house. She shared the rent with Rose Lalonde, and Karkat was aware that the two of them weren’t really so Christian. He doesn’t judge since homosexuality isn’t something that bothered him.

“Karkat, I wasn’;t expecting you to come today.”

“Kanaya, may I come in?”

Karkat talked to Kanaya about what happened last night, about the ghosts, about he felt guilty for not celebrating Christmas with her in recent years, and about Terezi. Karkat was crying a bit, but Kanaya always knew that a hug was all he needed. He only accepted hugs from the women in her family, and Terezi.

“I really regret all the things I said before, Kanaya.”

“I knew you weren’t meaning to be cruel. Mom’s death was devastating to all of us.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t have the right to behave like that. Can I still come to your Christmas parties?”

“Of course, Karkat.”

Karkat left Kanaya’s house, and he was filled with DETERMINATI…

“Huh?”

Karkat saw Past Xmas… no, it was Vriska with the dress she was wearing the day she was buried. She walked through the main street and Karkat followed her. He wanted to know was she doing, but her pace was becoming faster, so he had to run.

“VRISKA, WAIT!”

She just walked with the red haired man following her ghostly trail. Karkat didn’t noticed the place where she stopped and disappeared.

“Welp, I thought I wouldn’t have to visit this place until the day I die.”

The graveyard was similar in his vision of the future, but it wasn’t so depressing. Also, there was someone else there. In front of a grave with Vriska’s name, there was a familiar woman hair as red as Karkat’s, and a dragon cane.

“Karkat?”

“Terezi?”

The two of them stared at each other for a long time.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally finished this story before Christmas! Merry Christmas to everyone! Also, happy holidays!


End file.
